10. Policy as a social experiment

Scientific experiments are based on the notion that trial and error is necessary in order to learn. Scientific experiments also take into account that the unexpected may happen, and that both problems and solutions may have to be redefined along the way. Rondinelli suggests that the policy process can be seen as a sort of social experiment. The policy process is less a matter of prediction, and more a matter of questions and discoveries as the experiment unfolds. In this model it becomes important for researchers to be able to provide feedback at strategic moments throughout the policy experiment, so that the policy has a chance to readjust and adapt to unforeseen circumstances as it is progressing.

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